In Politiken 8 June 2012, you can read that the number of complaints about stress is exploding. In Ugebrevet A4 on the same day, you can read that almost every 3 days of sick leave is due to a poor mental working environment.
Although the psychological working environment has been on the agenda for more than 30 years, it is still difficult to find out how we create a "safe and healthy working environment" where we can avoid stressed employees. Research has been carried out into stress and working life for many years, but the research has apparently had no significant effect on the working environment, as there are still companies that have severe cases of stress and high levels of sick leave. It can therefore be difficult for a company to find out how to work with stress in practice.
By: Henrik Rosenstjerne
Stress can be defined as a reaction to a long-term overload, and the very term "stress" comes from working with materials and the breaking point of any kind of material.
Stress can arise as a reaction to a complex interplay between task solving and the managerial and organizational context the employee is part of. The reaction can be both physical and psychological, and most often a combination. The Center for Modern Working Life investigates what kind of interaction has caused a particular reaction. Experience shows that the basis for understanding why the employee experiences stress lies in the reaction, and it is possible to find out how big a share we can attribute to the employee and what is in the environment. To figure it out, you have to look at it from an action perspective. It is natural for all people to make what is beyond our reach part of the problem - often something we do unconsciously. Stress can therefore be traced back to the way we act in everyday life and the settings in which we act.
Throughout the past several years, we have talked about the development of the knowledge society - and there are now a great many people who have a job based on the knowledge they have about a certain area. At the Center for modern working life, they are called "knowledge workers". "Knowledge work" can be defined as; delivery of intangible services.
A telling story of the transition from industry to knowledge illustrates the value of knowledge work.
(Schøn: The reflective practitioner, 1984)
The story is about a marine engineer who is an expert in large engines. He can listen to an engine and say what needs to be done in preventive maintenance, so that nothing happens to the engine in question. He is asked to look at a ship's engine, and arrives at the scene. He only has a small leather bag with him, in which he has a small hammer. He picks up the hammer, hits a certain spot on the engine twice and then sends a bill with the following wording.
Tapping: $2
Knowing where to tap: 9,998 dollars
It is not certain that the economic strength ratio is the same for knowledge companies as it is for the industrial company in this case, but the fact is that knowledge seems to increase in value within some areas.
Knowledge work therefore has two sides – it can be developing and settling at the same time.
Knowledge work can be characterized as work where you can be both excited and burdened. A job that has an exciting and challenging character. Experience shows that with the communication options available in modern technology, this is work that can be done anywhere. The tendency towards limitlessness inherent in the nature of work can be the root of overload and thus stress. Knowledge work therefore has two sides – it can be developing and settling at the same time. We also know, for example, that knowledge work can create work addiction, and in that addiction the root of the overload can also be found.
The approach to stress must be action-oriented rather than treatment-oriented. Instead of sending the employee to therapy because they are affected by work-related stress, the goal must be to create good and developing work for the individual. It requires action, which the management must be involved in setting in motion. Research also shows that absence from the workplace of more than 14 days can in itself be harmful.
The Center for Modern Working Life meets people affected by stress every day, and they almost all have the same profile:
If you have employees in your company who are affected by stress or are in the risk group, you should consider and discuss:
… action is needed. For the stressed employee, the possibility of staying at work or returning to work must be covered. It is about preventing the employee from being affected by their own negative thought patterns in relation to the difficulty of returning. There must be a review of the habits and routines the employee must work to change, and what kind of framework is needed to ensure full working capacity. A plan for the collaboration between manager and employee should be drawn up to ensure structure and prevent relapse.
As a manager, your task is to help the employee to restore the balance between work and non-work, while it is the task of colleagues to provide social support and support to the stressed person.
The experience is that with few and simple means you can ensure the employees' full return to work. It simply requires attention and an understanding of the good working environment.
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